Bessan
| Bessan | ||
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The Historic Bessan Village Door
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 Bessan
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Location within Occitanie region
Bessan
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| Coordinates: 43°21′43″N 3°25′30″E / 43.362°N 3.425°ECoordinates: 43°21′43″N 3°25′30″E / 43.362°N 3.425°E | ||
| Country | France | |
| Region | Occitanie | |
| Department | Hérault | |
| Arrondissement | Béziers | |
| Canton | Agde | |
| Intercommunality | Hérault Méditerranée | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2014–2020) | Stéphane Pépin-Bonnet | |
| Area1 | 27.65 km2 (10.68 sq mi) | |
| Population (2008)2 | 4,435 | |
| • Density | 160/km2 (420/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 34031 /34550 | |
| Elevation | 0–84 m (0–276 ft) (avg. 8 m or 26 ft) |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Bessan is a commune in the Hérault department of the Occitanie region in France. Its inhabitants are known as 'Bessanais' in French.
Built among vineyards on the Hérault river, Bessan is a mainly agricultural village. In the past, its port was used to ship wines and other spirits.
Located a few kilometres from the Mediterranean Sea, it contains the Ricard distillery and Cactus Park botanical garden.
Around 600 BC, Greeks settled in Bessan on the oppidum of Monadière to trade.
In 218 BC the Carthaginian general Hannibal crossed the region with his army and war elephants to attack the Romans, passing between Bessan and Montblanc.
In 408-409 AD Béziers, Agde and the region were ransacked by an army of Germanic (Burgundians, Suevi, Vandals), Slavic (Alan) and other tribes.
In 737, Charles Martel entered the province at the head of the French, temporarily pushing back the Saracens, and destroyed Béziers, Agde and the surrounding countryside to prevent the Saracens from returning and fortifying the region.
1050-1100, the fortified village of Bessan starts to be built.
In 1209, the Crusader army, led by Simon de Montfort, seized the region under the pretext of hunting the Cathars, and ten years later the castles of Bessan and Touroulle became the property of his son, Amaury.
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Wikipedia